


What Happens In Fight Club

by ink_writes16



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck's a concerned boy, Eddie and the fight club, Gen, M/M, Non established buddie but like 👀, Season 3 Spoilers, Take care of yourself please, just a little angst. as a treat, mention of like bones and injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29658363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ink_writes16/pseuds/ink_writes16
Summary: “What’s the address?” Eddie rattled off the numbers as he made his way up the stairs and shoved his things into his duffel. “Alright, and can you tell me how he got the injury?...Eddie, are you hurt?”He hung up the phone and shoved it into his back pocket.ORInstead of the 136 showing up to the fighting ring, it's the 118.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) & Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz, Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 15
Kudos: 147





	1. OK, Alright

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if you've noticed the pattern, but (if you've read my other 9-1-1 fics) you'll see that they're all named after a different song (Except Helpless and Hopeless). This chapter is named after OK, Alright by David Archuleta so you can go ahead and listen to that while you read

Before we start, I'm not 100% familiar with ao3 yet so I don't know how to add a link to the notes but [Here is a playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1KC4VA1yqIWBRWtIJiW81z?si=c6tAJfXXROeq4rJKJKfHbQ) that I listened to while writing this, loosely based on Eddie so if you're interested go ahead and give that listen :)

“No, no, no! Don’t you do it!”

Eddie glared up at the promoter as he put the phone to his ear.

_“Nine one one, what’s your emergency?”_

Eddie froze for a moment at Maddie’s voice.

“ _Hello_?”

“Hi, uh, I’ve got a man, maybe late twenties or early thirties-“

“ _Eddie?”_

He didn’t respond to that, sitting the man up against the fence and checking for any other injuries. “A piece of his broken nose was knocked into his cranial cavity, he’s going to start leaking spinal fluid soon. You need to send an RA unit.”

She hesitated but quickly recovered. “ _What’s the address_?” Eddie rattled off the numbers as he made his way up the stairs and shoved his things into his duffel. “ _Alright, and can you tell me how he got the injury_?”

He couldn’t bring himself to tell her. If he told her, she would tell Buck, who would make a big deal out of it. He _did_ know that the 118 wouldn’t be the ones coming though, he was almost sure of it. There was a station closer. The 136. He didn’t exactly want to have this conversation with Bosko either but-

“ _Eddie, are you hurt_?”

He hung up the phone and shoved it into his back pocket. He had to leave before-

Sirens broke through his thoughts and he cursed under his breath. He was sweaty and bruised and sore but he made his way up the stairs as fast as he could. He ducked into a hallway but stayed for just a moment. He wanted to make sure he hadn’t killed the man.

“Is this kind of thing even _legal_? Like underground fighting rings?”

Eddie’s heart stopped, his stomach dropped, he could feel the panic rising in him at the all too familiar voice.

 _Buck_.

“Cap, something’s not right.”

It was supposed to be the 136; _why_ wasn’t it the 136?

“What do you mean?”

“Well... that-“ he assumed Hen was gesturing toward the bone fragment he’d left with the patient- or would it be victim? “-is a piece of the guys nose. Someone left him sitting up, someone-“

“Who knew what they were doing...”

“Exactly.”

Eddie _had_ to get out of here. He made toward the fire escape at the back of the building, pulling his hood up as he made his way down.

“What are you doing here?”

The voice made him jump and he whipped around. Buck was looking at him, his brows drawn up in question while the rest of his features were nothing but concern.

Eddie tried to think of an excuse. “What are you guys doing here? Isn’t this a little far for us?”

“Eddie.” He stepped closer and Eddie moved back.

“I have to go before PD comes.”

He turned and started for his truck, hoping that would be the end. But he should have known better. This was Buck; who always needed to make sure everyone was okay.

“Maddie told me she got the call and it sounded like you,” Buck said. “ _You_ called didn’t you? You helped that guy?”

Eddie looked down at the ground and he _knew_ Buck was giving him _that_ face: his brows knit together, eyes narrowed slightly, head tilted to one side.

“Eddie, _why_ are you here?” When he didn’t answer, Buck tried again. “You told me you were spending the night with Christopher-“

“Well, I lied, Buck,” he spat, turning to face him again.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Buck snapped back. “ _Why_? Where is he? What were you doing at a thing like-“ He stopped and moved away a fraction of a step. “The truck...the bruises- you’re _fighting_ here, aren’t you? You’re not just watching.”

“Maybe I’m just a really good gambler,” Eddie shrugged.

“Oh my god...” Buck mumbled. “At least tell me that _this_ wasn’t you.”

Eddie crossed his arms and looked at anything but his best friend. He knew that if he looked up, there was no coming back from it.

“Eddie...”

It wasn’t judgmental; he wasn’t about to go into a lecture. It was pained and sad and _guilty._

A new set of sirens sounded and Buck looked toward them. Eddie took it as a opportunity to go to his truck, his way of avoiding the conversation. He’d parked in a part of the alley that he knew would be dark, that he knew would hide his black truck if anything had gone wrong. He slipped down to avoid being seen but he could still hear everything.

“Hey, Buck, you see something?” Athena.

“Uh, no, just thought I did. The guy’s inside, here, I’ll show you.”

* * *

Eddie came into the firehouse, dreading the conversation with Buck that he knew was coming. He avoided talking to anyone, keeping his head low.

“Morning, Eddie,” Hen called from the truck.

He sighed and looked down; she had just alerted the whole fire station to his presence. He felt her gaze on him and realized he hadn’t responded.

“Morning, Hen,” he said back finally, tripping over the words.

“Diaz, can I see you upstairs?” Eddie looked up at Bobby and his heart sank. He nodded and put his things down, stalling as long as he could.

Until he saw Buck coming down the stairs. The blond had a guilty expression, wringing his hands in front of him and was watching Eddie like he had something to apologize for.

“What did you tell him?” Eddie said, fear and anger rising in him.

“Eddie, I didn’t-“

“Diaz, let’s go.”

Eddie glared at Buck as he made his way up the stairs. “Cap, I don’t know what Buck told you-“

“I got a call from a certain dispatcher this morning. She wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“ _Maddie?”_

“She didn’t want Buck to know, she thought it’d be better if she talked to me.”

“What did she tell you?”

“Just that she was worried about you and wanted to make sure you were okay.” Eddie shifted and leaned against the rail. “I want to hear it from you. What were you doing there?”

* * *

Eddie slipped into the bathroom and tossed water on his face. He took a deep breath.

“Is everything okay?”

Eddie looked up at Buck through the mirror, then looked at himself.

“Yeah, fine.”

“You’re not getting suspended or anything?”

Eddie grabbed a towel and wiped his face, tossing it to the side. He turned to Buck and smiled. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” He pushed past Buck but he grabbed Eddie’s wrist.

“Eds…”

“I gotta go start my shift-“

“I’m trying to have a _serious_ conversation with you,” Buck insisted.

“And I’m not-so subtly trying to avoid it,” Eddie replied, shaking out of Buck’s grip.

“Please, talk to me about this,” he pleaded.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Eddie, you almost killed a guy, that’s _not_ nothing.”

Eddie clenched his jaw and shook his head. “It’s fine, Buck.”

“Don’t think I don’t notice when you come in with bruises, or the way you wince when you move the wrong way-“

“I am not having this conversation with you!”

Buck straightened and just looked at him for a moment. “Fine,” he said, putting his hands up in defeat. “Fine, I’ll back off.”


	2. Keep Me Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’d destroyed one, two, three, four relationships. That had to be some kind of record.
> 
> Tap out or knock out. Those were the rules. Not just for the ring.
> 
> OR 
> 
> Eddie is an Idiot and Buck pulls away, which Eddie hates, by the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is taken from the song Laugh/Cry by Bears In Trees, which I think really applies to Eddie here

If you're interested at all, [here's the playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1KC4VA1yqIWBRWtIJiW81z?si=08a1a7588c534dec) that I listened to when I wrote this :)

* * *

Christopher was at his Abuela’s again tonight. All the lights were out. The house was so quiet, Eddie could hear the faint hum of the refrigerator from his spot on the couch. He cradled the bottle in his hands, sitting forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

Buck had avoided him the rest of their shift. No, not just avoided. Buck went out of his way to stay away from him. He rode in the front on their way to calls. He didn’t make any jokes about the stupid situations people had found themselves in, he didn’t bump Eddie’s shoulder when he laughed.

Buck had _offered_ to run the winch.

And, yeah, sure, everyone thought it was weird behavior for him, but he’d told them he “wasn’t feeling 100%” and they all accepted it. Except for Eddie.

Eddie knew why and he pretended to be unfazed by it all but in reality? In _reality_ , he ached. He missed having Buck by his side. He missed the way they joked on the way to and from calls, the way Buck’s smile lit up any room he went into, the way-

A knock on the front door drew Eddie’s attention to the tears that were trying to force their way out of his eyes. He shook his head and stood, leaving the booze on the kitchen table as he went. He opened the door and frowned.

“What are you doing here?”

Maddie shifted, toying with her phone in her hands, flipping it upside down and right side up, over and over.

“I hadn’t heard from you since you called and I just wanted-“

“Maddie-“

“No, Eddie. No one is telling me anything. Not you, not Buck, or Bobby. I don’t know what happened and I didn’t know if you were hurt and no one was telling me a _thing._ ”

He crossed his arms and shrugged. “Why does it matter so much to you?”

She scoffed slightly. _God,_ he thought, _now I know who Buck picked that look up from._

“Because we’re friends-“

“Are we?”

“Yes!”

Eddie shook his head. “Just because I work with your boyfriend and your little brother, doesn’t mean we’re friends.”

He closed the door before she could say anything, leaving her alone on his door step with a pained expression.

He didn’t sleep that night.

* * *

When he got to the fire house the next day, he sighed and kept his head down again. It wasn’t enough and Chimney stopped him before he’d even made it past the truck.

“What the _hell_ , Diaz?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Chim,” he lied, not looking up at him.

“Don’t bullshit me. Why would you say something like that to Maddie?” Eddie didn’t say anything, just keeping his eyes on the locker room door ahead. “Eddie!”

The alarm rang and Eddie let out a soft sigh of relief. Chimney glared at him and shook his head.

“Eddie, you’re the man behind today,” Bobby said, giving him a look.

“Cap,” he started but it was already too late. He scoffed and dropped his bag by the stairs and started up.

“Hey, where’s Buck?” Hen asked, pulling on her turnout coat.

“He switched to the B shift,” Bobby said, casually.

“ _What_?”

Eddie froze. He knew that Buck was mad at him, but would he really go _that_ far? Go so far as to switch shifts, to leave the group he was so comfortable with? Not only that, but if they were on alternating shifts, then Buck was giving up time with Christopher, something he didn’t Buck would ever want to do.

Eddie watched the truck pull out from the balcony and leaned against the rail. His phone buzzed and he looked at the words on his screen.

_Unknown Number_

He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Eddie?”

He made a face. “Josh?”

“Oh, good. This is the right number. Look, something’s going on with Buck-“

“How did you get my number?”

“I know a guy. Anyway-”

 _“_ Did you get it from the _call_ I made?”

“What? No, that would be illegal. Maddie gave it to me a while ago, just in case. But I know that you and Buck are close and something’s wrong and he won’t tell me.”

“Why would he tell you?” The words came out with a twinge of bitterness and he shook his head at no one in particular.

“Well, we’ve been talking for the last couple of months. Just- you know, ranting or when we need advice or just something funny from a call or something. But he won’t talk to me, he’s not answering my texts either.”

Eddie felt a pang of jealousy but he pushed it away. What did Buck have to rant about that he couldn’t talk to Eddie about?

“Yeah, I’m not sure I can be of much help,” he said, sitting at the table.

“Why not?”

“We’re not... It’s complicated.”

“Oh my god, he finally told you?”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Told me what?” Josh was silent for a long moment. “Russo-“

“Nothing. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“It does if my friends are hurting, so.”

“Goodbye, Josh.”

“Wait, Eddie-“

He sat there by himself for a moment, thinking over the last three days. He’d destroyed one, two, three, _four_ relationships. That had to be some kind of record.

Tap out or knock out. _Those_ were the rules. Not just for the ring.

For the duration of the shift, Bobby kept Eddie at the station. Eddie _hated_ it but it was better than a suspension. He had cleaned the whole place, his locker was more organized than it had ever been, and he had gotten to meet some people from the neighborhood who brought some baked goods for the first responders.

When the team got back, Chimney continued to glare at him, Bobby made him feel like a kid who just got grounded for a week and Hen- well, Hen just kind of... _watched_ him. She sat on the couch and watched how he acted and interacted with people.

“Hey, Eddie,” she said after a while. “Can I get your help?” He nodded and followed her down to the back of the ambulance.

“What do you need-“

“What’s going on with you and Buck?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

“Nothing’s going on,” he lied, for the second time that day.

“So you expect me to believe that Buck ‘isn’t feeling great’ and then he leaves out of no where? And everything’s still fine?”

Eddie shrugged. “Buck doesn’t tell me everything.”

“Yes, he does,” Hen argued. “You two know more about each other than anyone else in the department.”

Eddie looked down at his hands. “It really doesn’t matter.”

“You two need to talk to each other. And you and Chimney need to talk because that look he’s been giving you? I think he’s about one Red Bull short of murder.”

“That-that has nothing to do with Chimney, actually,” he said with a sigh.

“Well, you still need to fix it. Because if something is wrong with one of us, the team won’t function like it should.”

He sighed and nodded. She squeezed his hand and left him on the step of the ambulance.

On his way out after his shift, he saw Buck talking, with one of the other fire fighters. He was smiling but in a different way than what Eddie was used to.

Like it was plastered on. Like it was fake and painted.

He changed direction and stopped next to Buck. “I need to talk to you.”

Buck looked at the other firefighter apologetically. Eddie wasted no time, dragging Buck into the locker room and closing the door behind them with little warning. He let go of Buck’s arm, making him stumble a little.

“Wh-Eddie!”

“What did Josh mean?” Buck just looked at him blankly. “He asked if you’d told me. Told me what?”

Buck went quiet.

“Told me _what_?”

Buck hesitated. “That I, uh, I think you need to get help. A therapist or something.” Eddie furrowed his brows. “But I told him that I didn’t think you would because you... you have a hard time asking for help.”

Eddie knew that wasn’t what Josh had been talking about but when he looked at Buck he knew that it was something he truly believed. He was quiet for a moment and sat down on the bench.

It wasn’t _just_ that Buck thought he needed to talk to a professional. It was that Eddie hadn’t felt he could go to Buck. It was that he had hid it from him for _so long_ and that, even after Buck had found out, Eddie was still scared to talk to him about it. To tell him that _he_ was part of the reason he’d started fighting in the first place. The pain in Buck’s voice at the ring that night had said it all.

That’s what it was about, the avoiding him, the switching shifts; because if Eddie was going to hide things from him, then that was the start of something bigger.

It was about _losing_ him.

Eddie covered his face and couldn't even try to hide the sobs that ripped through him. He heard Buck moving, felt his hands on the back of his head and shoulder, pulling him close until he was resting against him. He wrapped his arms around Buck and let himself- he let himself just break down. Because, sometimes, the only way you can build yourself back up is by allowing yourself to feel the pain to begin with.

“You don’t have to talk to me,” Buck said after a few minutes. “But you can’t keep doing this, Eds.”

Eddie stayed quiet and pulled away, looking at his hands. There were a few bruises left there and he felt an overwhelming sense of shame. 

“Eddie…I’m worried about you.” He shook his head and started to say something. “If you say ‘its fine’ I might lose my mind.”

He looked up and saw a small smile on Buck’s face. A genuine one this time.

“It was…uh, it was the lawsuit.”

Buck’s face fell. “What?”

“I- not _just_ the lawsuit, but… with losing Shannon and losing you, I was angry.” He shrugged and pulled at his sleeve, sniffing a little. “It technically started after I hit a guy over a parking spot-“

“You _what_?”

“He insulted Chris and I just… decked him.”

Buck thought about that for a moment. “Okay, I won’t hold that against you-”

“-But you will the rest of it?” The words fell out of his mouth before he realized it and he slowly met Buck’s gaze.

The blond just shook his head. “No, never.”

It was like a weight had been lifted off of Eddie’s chest and he took a breath, running his hands over his face again.

“Sorry, about- about all of this,” he said, clearing his throat and looking away. “I just, uh, I don’t know how I let it get so out of control.”

“It’s alright,” Buck assured. “I can help you, but only if you want me to help. I won’t try to force my way in.”

Eddie nodded, wiping his face. “God, I need to talk to Maddie.”

Buck made a face at that. “Maddie?” He nodded, clearly confused by the statement. “Okay, well, we’re meeting for coffee before my shift…” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “She should be here soon. Why do you need to talk to her?”

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “She didn’t tell you?” Buck shook his head but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, not just as they were fixing things. “She was the one who took the call. I’ve been dodging her messages and stuff.”

This wasn't exactly a lie, but Eddie knew it didn't help at all.

But it seemed to satisfy Buck and he gestured toward the door. “Yeah, she’s probably just worried.”

Eddie spotted Maddie coming into the building.“Yeah, I guess so.” He met her eyes from across the room and she straightened and turned to say something to Chimney.

He stood and Buck caught his hand quickly; Eddie tried not to think about how much effort it took to not melt into his touch. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” he stuttered out; Buck raised an eyebrow. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

Buck let go, looking away and running his hands over his thighs. Eddie watched him for a moment, absolutely aware of the awkward silence that was stretching between them. 

"Buck?"

"Hm?" He looked up at him, as if he hadn't realized he was still in the room. 

"Come back to our shift." Eddie was also aware of how _painfully_ desperate it sounded but he didn't care because, in that moment, Buck smiled widely. 

"You miss me already?" He asked. Eddie turned away before his friend could see the blush creeping up his face. 

"I gotta go," he mumbled with a smile. 

"That wasn't a no!" Buck called after him and he laughed. 

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he met Maddie. Chimney stepped closer to her, a sort of indiscreet threat.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked quietly and she nodded. Eddie glanced at Chimney, who looked at Maddie, who looked back at him with a small smile.

He sighed and turned to Eddie. "Don't be an ass." 

Eddie laughed a little. "Deal." He watched as Chimney squeezed Maddie's hand before leaving. "I'm really sorry. I have no excuse."

"You don't need one," she said, her voice as patient as ever. "It's fine."

"It's not," he insisted. "You _are_ my friend. I enjoy your company as much as anyone else here. You're a part of the 118, Maddie, you're _family_." Her smile widened and she pulled him into a hug. He let out a quiet breath and hugged her back. When she moved away, she was smirking a little. "What?"

"I've noticed that there's one particular member who's caught your attention more than the rest."

He furrowed his brows and she looked past him, waving. Eddie followed her gaze and met eyes with Buck. He turned a light red and looked at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"Are you going to go into overprotective big sister mode?"

She shook her head. "I can't think of anyone who'd be better for him." 

* * *

Here's my [Tumblr](https://futures-tense.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
